There exist various types of mechanisms for adjusting a position of an optical component, such as an optical fibre, a lens or a mirror, in an optical system. In some applications these adjustment mechanisms are used for aligning an optical axis of an optical component whereas in some cases e.g. for scanning purposes.
In the known devices for adjusting a position of an optical component in two directions there are typically provided two single-axis drive stages which are arranged to operate independently from each other. Thus, to move the optical component from one position to another, two separate adjusting means, such as screws, have to be controlled.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,645 discloses a collimator with an adjusting mechanism for an alignment between an optical fibre and a lens. In order to adjust the optical axis of the optical fibre, which is mounted on a ferrule within a receptacle, the adjusting mechanism is mounted on the periphery of the receptacle support to adjust the radial position of the receptacle. Four threaded bores extend radially through the receptacle support and are arranged in a circumferentially 90 degrees spaced relationship. Each adjusting mechanism includes a screw received in one of the two diametrically opposite threaded bores, a spring-loaded screw received in the other threaded bore, and a locking nut adapted to fix the screw in position. As the screw is radially moved toward and away from the receptacle, a pin of the spring-loaded screw located in a diametrically opposite relation to the screw is moved in a reciprocal fashion under the action of the spring. As a result, the optical fibre is moved in the cross directions along a plane extending at right angles to the axis of the receptacle.
A drawback of the mechanism disclosed in the aforementioned document and other known two-axial adjustment mechanisms is that their use is often time-consuming; for adjusting the position of the optical component at least two adjusting means must be controlled. Additionally, the known adjusting apparatuses have typically a complicated structure and are thus expensive to manufacture with the required high precision. Also not many of the known devices are capable for the purposes of both aligning and scanning.